NSCA CSCS Injury Prevention 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which core stability exercise is most appropriate for an athlete early in a lumbar injury prevention program due to its low spinal compression load?
- Loaded barbell good morning
- Abdominal hollowing and bird-dog progressions (Correct answer)
- Maximal isometric back extension
- Heavy Romanian deadlift
Correct answer: Abdominal hollowing and bird-dog progressions
Bird-dog and abdominal hollowing exercises activate deep stabilizers (transversus abdominis, multifidus) with minimal spinal compressive load, making them appropriate early in a lumbar prevention program.
Question 2: When designing a shoulder injury prevention program for overhead throwers, which muscle group is most critical to strengthen to protect the rotator cuff?
- Pectoralis major and anterior deltoid
- Rotator cuff (particularly infraspinatus and teres minor) and scapular stabilizers (Correct answer)
- Biceps brachii and brachialis
- Trapezius upper fibers only
Correct answer: Rotator cuff (particularly infraspinatus and teres minor) and scapular stabilizers
The posterior rotator cuff (infraspinatus, teres minor) and scapular stabilizers control humeral head positioning and prevent subacromial impingement during overhead motions.
Question 3: A distance runner presents with iliotibial band syndrome. Which biomechanical factor is most commonly implicated?
- Excessive ankle dorsiflexion
- Hip drop (Trendelenburg) and contralateral pelvic drop due to hip abductor weakness (Correct answer)
- Insufficient knee extension at heel strike
- Overpronation of the wrist
Correct answer: Hip drop (Trendelenburg) and contralateral pelvic drop due to hip abductor weakness
Contralateral hip drop increases iliotibial band tension over the lateral femoral epicondyle, making hip abductor weakness a primary driver of ITBS.
Question 4: Which principle best describes why progressive overload must be balanced with adequate recovery in injury prevention?
- Tissue adaptation occurs during loading, not recovery
- Connective tissue (tendons, ligaments) adapts more slowly than muscle, requiring adequate recovery to prevent accumulation of microtrauma (Correct answer)
- Recovery is only necessary for cardiovascular adaptation
- Tendons adapt faster than muscle tissue to loading stress
Correct answer: Connective tissue (tendons, ligaments) adapts more slowly than muscle, requiring adequate recovery to prevent accumulation of microtrauma
Connective tissue remodels more slowly than muscle, so inadequate recovery between loading bouts allows microtrauma to accumulate and progress to injury.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of a return-to-sport continuum following musculoskeletal injury?
- To expedite return to competition regardless of tissue healing
- To systematically progress loading demands to confirm tissue readiness and reduce re-injury risk (Correct answer)
- To replace the need for medical clearance
- To focus exclusively on pain management
Correct answer: To systematically progress loading demands to confirm tissue readiness and reduce re-injury risk
A return-to-sport continuum progressively challenges the healing tissue through criteria-based stages to confirm readiness and minimize re-injury risk.
Question 6: Which environmental factor most significantly increases the risk of heat-related illness and secondary musculoskeletal injury during outdoor summer training?
- Low ambient humidity below 30%
- High wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) combining heat and humidity (Correct answer)
- Wind speeds above 15 mph
- Barometric pressure changes
Correct answer: High wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) combining heat and humidity
High WBGT reflects both ambient temperature and humidity, which together impair thermoregulation and increase core temperature, fatigue, and injury risk.
Question 7: An athlete's acute:chronic workload ratio spikes to 1.8 entering the final two weeks before competition. What is the recommended management approach?
- Maintain current training load to maximize fitness gains before competition
- Reduce training volume to lower the ratio toward 0.8–1.3 while maintaining intensity (Correct answer)
- Eliminate all training to fully rest the athlete
- Increase load further to establish a higher chronic baseline
Correct answer: Reduce training volume to lower the ratio toward 0.8–1.3 while maintaining intensity
Reducing volume to bring the acute:chronic ratio into the 0.8–1.3 'sweet spot' during the competition taper manages injury risk while preserving performance readiness.
NSCA CSCS Injury Prevention 5
Which core stability exercise is most appropriate for an athlete early in a lumbar injury prevention program due to its low spinal compression load?